Carb Cycling Guide

Heard of the term carb cycling? Do you know what it means or rather how it works? Do you know it can help you lose weight faster than traditional dieting?

Well, carb cycling is the one trick to melt your belly fat, however, it is not a shortcut but it will leave you looking fit than before.

The carb cycling guide will help you learn the “secret” to getting into the best shape of your life and understanding the basic diet and training principles. It can also be described as the 20% of workouts that give you a slight edge like periodization, supplementation and is done by people who have some patience and persistence in what they do.

What Carb Cycling is?

Carb cycling is a process that involves planned increase and then a certain degree of decreases in carbohydrate and caloric intake. There are so many carb cycling that are out there.

Therefore, when it comes to carb cycling requires that you take time to pay some attention to your meal plan and follow the rules.

In general, you can decide to go for 3 days of low carb followed by 1 day of high carb intake, then back to low carb days. Alternatively, you can go for 2 days of low carb followed by 1 day of high carb and then 1 day of no carb.

Overall calorie intake on low carb days should also be lower. When starting the diet, you need to calculate your required daily calorie intake and work out the required quantity of carbohydrate you should be eating.

You can use carb cycling diet to cut down 1-3 pounds within a week and that’s nothing impossible. Well, try to ensure that your calorie intake on low carb days is low enough to help you achieve this goal. It is a great idea to engage in tough workouts on a high carb day.

The easiest way to get started with carb cycling is to follow the plan and then adjust from there.

Once you’ve mastered a particular carb cycling strategy of your choice and you’re ready for some more finer carb cycling diet where it is much of stricter dieting. At this point it might be wise to bring on a coach to help you make these adjustments.

Many also recommend avoiding any form of refine sugar and refined carbohydrates except the natural sugar in fruits.

Let me give one important advice here, please note that a high carb day shouldn’t be a day to eat all the junk food available.

However don’t be afraid to give yourself a treat with different types of high calorie foods either, as long as total carbohydrates are accounted for.

Most people consider the carb cycling procedure a lot more convenient because of the fact that high carb days are comfortably accommodated.

Therefore the common unwanted side effect such as reduced fat burning capacity, high craving for food and lack of adequate exercises due to weakness are exempted.

This is because high carb days refuel the muscle’s glycogen levels making you feel good and energized.

You can end up with a good lean muscle body too after a long time of doing some exercises. So, carb-cycling for weight loss: does it work? The judgment is yours and a try out will certainly prove this diet method’s suitability

How Carb Cycling Works

Carb Cycling is the basis of many weight loss methods and used in various forms by people who wish to lose fat, build muscles, get toned, and for many more fitness goals.

But how does carb cycling work and why is it such a popular method? Carbs make up the majority of calories we eat. Carbs are found in anything from sugar, through bread and pasta, to fruits and vegetables.

There is no shortage of carbs around us. The problem is how to properly eat carbs to burn body fat faster.

This is where carb cycling comes in. Basically, you want to make sure that your body makes the best use of the carbs you consume.

By best use I mean to provide you with the energy you need to function properly and to workout without gaining weight or body fat.

The problem is that our body pays close attention to how we feed it. When we try to lose fat by cutting down calories or carbs, it immediately begins to worry whether food is about to get scarce.

This leads to a reduction in metabolism and a slower fat burning rate, just the opposite of what you want to happen.

This is where carb cycling comes in. Carb cycling (also known as carb rotation) is done by switching up the amount of carbs that you eat from one day to the next.

What you’re basically trying to do is to “trick” your body so it never knows exactly how you’re going to feed it.

For instance, you may cause your body to raise its metabolism in the expectation of a large amount of carbs but then you only feed it a little.

This causes your body to burn a lot of calories even though you’re only putting in a small amount. This is just one of the tricks involved, as there are many. The key is to have low, medium and high carb days to keep your body “guessing” and your fat burning rate as high as possible.

Carb cycling is popular because it produces results and it is a sustainable and doable fat loss method. Indeed, it can even be used to develop bigger muscle mass as it is a system that can be fine tuned for many fitness goals.

If you find yourself trying diet plans over and over again and failing to lose weight in a consistent manner, you should consider cycling your carbs. It may be just what you need.

How to Enjoy Carb Cycling

There are many ways to begin enjoying your low carb diet today! Here are 6 simple ways you can turn your low carb diet into a high taste adventure!

Mix It Up

Start thinking outside the “I can’t eat anything” box and start seeing all the things you can eat on a low carb diet. You’d be surprised how many foods open up before your eyes when you stop focusing on what you can’t eat and being looking around at what you can.

Get Spicy

If you do nothing else to break your low carb blahs than fill your cupboards with assorted spices and seasonings, you’ll still be thankful. Dress up your low carb foods with fresh herbs and tangy marinades.

Go Meatless

Dump the notion that you have to eat meat every day and try a vegetarian dish a few days a week. Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a vegetarian to eat like one. In fact, studies have shown that vegetarians who follow a well-balanced low-carb, low-fat, high-fiber diet often have a lower chance of coronary artery disease, hypertension, and obesity. If that’s not enough convincing, try any of the many meat substitutes in your local store.

Whether you’re looking for fish, chicken, steak, or sausages, you’ll find that the meatless version of each often has the same consistency and taste as the original. The beauty of it, of course, is these meat-free dishes are often dramatically lower in fat and calories than the meats they replace. In most cases, the protein count is higher, and the net carbs are very low too!

Make It Green and Leafy

Make boring a thing of the past as you fill your repast with green leafy salads topped with all kinds of low carb treats!

Have a Snack Attack

When the idea of having a steak for dinner just isn’t enough to get you through the afternoon, it’s time you had a snack attack. Fill up on low carb snacks to give your tummy something to smile about.

If you want to eat some nuts, then feel free! You can try small portions of macadamia nuts or walnuts. If you want cheese then feel free to try string cheese. Or, for the ultimate treat, make a super smoothie. Make a smoothie by mixing your favorite low carb protein powder in water, or soy milk with your favorite berries and a pinch of Splenda®.

Low Carb Doesn’t Mean No Carb

When nothing else is helping you get over your low carb blues, remember this: Low carb doesn’t mean no carb.

Your job is to rid your diet of refined and processed carbohydrates and replace them with the good stuff: whole grains, vegetables, nuts, and fruits high in nutrients and fiber.

When you realize that you don’t have to go carb-free to let go of the pounds, you’ll stop waiting and begin enjoying all the foods that are available to you on your low carb diet!

How to Stick Through Carb Cycling Diet

Sticking through a carb cycling diet is not as easy as many people would assume. You really have to go into the protocol knowing that life would change and that you would need to really be committed in the cycling diet. Here are some things you can do to stick through the carb cycling diet.

Write It Down

Every day write down what you ate and make a note of what worked, what tasted good, what didn’t work, and how you felt about your diet that day. Most importantly, write down at least 3 things every day that celebrate the choice you’ve made to go low carb. Attitude is everything!

Bumps in the Road: Plan Ahead

Plan out the food in your day before it happens. Know where you’ll be and if you need to pack ahead. There’s nothing worse than ending up unprepared in a high carb zone!

Don’t Waste Time Taking Back Your Waistline

If you start slipping in the land of high carbs, draw the line at your waistline and just say no to high carb foods. Waiting until next Monday or the full moon or you find a lucky penny are not good excuses. Start taking back control of your carbs immediately.

Just Because It Says “Low Carb” Doesn’t Mean You Can Eat 12

Just because something is low carb doesn’t mean that it should be a free-for-all. Ensure that everything that has fat is taken in moderate consumption so that you do not end up hurting your own body.

There are countless great low carb cookbooks on the market today. Beyond that, you can transform just about any recipe into a low carb version. Don’t give up because you’re bored, buy a cookbook and open up page after page of possibility.

Send It Back

Many low carb dieters fall off the bandwagon when eating out. Feeling that it would be impolite to refuse, they let the complimentary bread and chips fill the baskets, sneak in a side potato with the main dish, and nibble on the dessert “just this one time.”

Stand up for yourself when you eat out—don’t let the servers fill your plate or table with anything that might tempt you. Ask politely that they remove any breads or chips. Don’t be embarrassed—this is your life and their jobs, which is more important to you?

Maintaining a healthy, exciting low carb diet is not only possible, it’s important. Believe in yourself and your health and you’ll have no problem keeping on the down low.

Benefits of Carb Cycling Diet

Low carb diets are not only excellent at reducing weight, but they also help to control various lifestyle diseases. People on this diet experience a reduction in blood pressure and a regulation of blood sugar levels.

Hence, low carb diets are is excellent for people suffering from Type II Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and Metabolic Syndrome.

The low carb diet is excellent for dealing with the stubborn fat that coagulates around vital organs which often triggers dangerous illnesses in human beings. It also helps that it triggers the elimination of stubborn fats in the stomach area and thighs that many people have a hard time getting rid of even with strenuous exercise.

Why is the low carb diet for weight loss effective?

One of the reasons that the low carb diets work is they lower Insulin levels in the body. Insulin is a hormone produced in the body that regulates blood sugar levels. Insulin stimulates the production of fat in the body and inhibits the burning of this fat in the body. When the level of insulin balances in the body, we have balanced energy levels, and the body burns fat efficiently. Balanced energy levels are what the low carb diet aims to achieve.

Low carb diets lower and balances the insulin levels in the human body that leads to the burning of stored fat for energy. In retrospect, when the insulin levels in the body are high, the body stores fat.

If your diet contributes to high insulin levels all the time, the result is an increase in fat storage that contributes to unwanted weight gain.

What to expect from the low carb diet for weight loss

1. Decrease in water weight.

In the first days of the low carb diet, people notice a drastic reduction in weight. This Weight loss in the first days is due to the loss of water weight.

This weight loss occurs because of the reduction of blood sugar levels occasioned by the diet. When the blood sugar goes down, the sodium levels in the kidney reduce leading to a reduction in water weight.

Many people that suffer from high blood pressure also witness a reduction in their blood pressure levels at this time.

2. Lean muscle formation and appetite reduction.

The increased intake of protein on the low carb diet for weight loss contributes to fat burning and formation of lean muscle in the body.

By their nature, proteins make us feel fuller for longer hence there will be a reduction in appetite that helps in weight loss.

The increase in lean muscle mass increases the body’s metabolism that subsequently contributes to increased fat burning in the body. With these advantages, you can see the low carb diet works well when followed diligently. Try it today!

Written by Irina Radosevic MD

Irina graduated from the University of Belgrade, School of Medicine as a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and spent over 3 years working in the Clinical Hospital Center Zvezdara, in the Department of Emergency Medicine. She also undertook a postgraduate in Cardiology from the same University and had previously worked for over a year as a Physician and Nutritionist Dietitian for the Fitness club Green Zone. She eventually left her chaotic but fulfilling job in the ER to pursue her passion of writing, travelling and mountain climbing which has included writing a first aid course for the alpine club of Belgrade. Irina currently works as a VA for PintMedia focusing on medical and travel writing. Feel free to connect with Irina on LinkedIn and FaceBook. Her CV can be seen here.

Leave a Comment

About Us

At Active Beautiful our mission is to do everything we can to help you live a balanced, healthy and beautiful life. We are a blog that offers health advice written by Licensed Doctors with experience in the field and we concentrate on the categories of Nutrition, Fitness, Home Remedies, Beauty, and Sleep. We also feature products in most of our posts that we have reviewed and consider to be the best taking also into account consumer reviews where we receive a commission from Amazon when an order is placed through our site. Our pages also contain display banner ads from Google. Apart from the above two sources of revenue, all the content, links and media on our site are completely organic. Every article on our site is reviewed and updated within 3 years of its upload date to ensure all medical facts and statements remain true.